


undoubtedly

by flosus



Category: Naruto
Genre: F/M, Gen, M/M, Weed, i skimmed through it like twice, no plot jus had an idea in my head i wanted to crank out, talks with your father in the dead of night, unbetaed, use of weed, wrote dis in like an hr
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-30
Updated: 2019-08-30
Packaged: 2020-09-30 11:00:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,259
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20446052
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/flosus/pseuds/flosus
Summary: Life had been almost preset for Shikamaru until he decided that he didn’t want Temari for a wife or to fall into the same vicious cycle that his father had. To fight for a nation that manufactured soldiers for its bidding. He didn’t want anything to do with it but fighting against it required determination and perseverance he didn’t possess, he left that to Naruto--and Sasuke, a rejected vagabond betrayed by Konoha who also shared a similar vision with Shikamaru but was cursed to have that loud chattering voice in his ear that told him it could be fixed, it was bad but Konoha could be fixed. That voice was his companion and rival, Naruto.





	undoubtedly

**Author's Note:**

> we luv fake deep convos b/w shikamaru and shikaku  
note: ive never smoked weed a day in my life UIOSDFJSIO

It was as if the night was palpable--humidity hung in the air, and it was making sweat slide down Shikamaru’s temples and back. Konoha’s nights were nearly unbearable in the summer, and he knew that the walls of his kitchen wouldn’t be any more tolerable than out here. And even though there were no clouds for him to gaze at and take him away from this monotonous duty he called life, there was at least a vast darkness that allowed him the same away-ness he craved.

And then, there was the spliff in his pocket.

He walked steadily but purposefully to the small spot that had become his _ spot _ for the last two and a half years. His strides languid, the ones of a man with a destination--and general lethargy.

Life had been almost preset for Shikamaru until he decided that he didn’t want Temari for a wife or to fall into the same vicious cycle that his father had. To fight for a nation that manufactured soldiers for its bidding. He didn’t want anything to do _ with _ it but fighting _ against _ it required determination and perseverance he didn’t possess, he left that to Naruto--and Sasuke, a rejected vagabond betrayed by Konoha who also shared a similar vision with Shikamaru but was cursed to have that loud chattering voice in his ear that told him it could be _ fixed_, it was bad but Konoha could be _ fixed_. That voice was his companion and rival, Naruto.

Shikamaru’s feet stopped at the edge of a strip of grass. He exhaled, shakily, head spinning with unwarranted thoughts. The night was dense, and he could hardly make out the shape of the trees. The dampness and heaviness in the air made his feet feel like they were full of iron and he welcomed the final stop. Reaching in his pocket, he grabbed the contents. Spliff between his fingers, he lit it and breathed the smoke.

A rustle at his side made his heart stop in his chest. He turned toward the sound slowly, cautious. Only when squinting could he make out the shape of a person at his side. Swallowing thickly, he stood, startled and unsure.

“Didn’t think I’d be seeing you out here,” the voice at his side said.

Dumbfounded, he asked, “_Dad_?”

“Son.”

He felt a mix of emotions. Annoyed, startled, confused, but mostly the latter. “Why--”

“Same reason you come,” was all he said, and Shikamaru was suddenly conscious of the smoke flowing from between his fingers and dissolving into the sky. He looked, wide-eyed, at his father, who, after some heavy squinting, he saw was grinning in amusement.

“You_smoke_?”

“Yeah, is it really that surprising?”

“Yes, no--I mean, I know you drank and smoked cigarettes, but--weed?”

“Yeah, I have other indulgences, you know. It’s not new, Shikamaru,” Shikaku teased.

Shikamaru only grumbling, passing the spliff to his lips. “Mom knows?”

“Hell no,” Shikaku shook his head. “Why do you think I come here?”

Shikamaru nodded in understanding. “I still find it odd that we both come to the same place yet we’re only meeting now.”

“To be honest, I was a little annoyed at seeing you,” Shikaku admitted.

“Likewise,” the younger Nara agreed. “It was like someone was intruding in my space.”

“To be fair, I’ve been coming here since I was your age. So maybe it’s you who’s intruding upon my space.”

“Who says we can claim nature in the first place?”

“Valid point,” Shikaku admitted. “That’s the basis of our world though.”

“True, there have been wars over land, land that will always be here,” Shikamaru took a drag and looked toward the sky. He imagined himself there, devoid of sensation, an _ away _he craves so desperately, and this small moment being the closest to it. “I can’t understand it. Wars, that is. Why Konoha manufactures soldiers to fight senseless wars.”

“Why else? Violence is the product of poor communication, the inability to get what you want. What do you do in a situation where you seem cornered? You lash out.”

“Mm,” Shikamaru shrugged, ending that line of conversation. He looked at his dad. “You never talk about your romantic life before mom.”

Even the dark couldn’t mask the elder Nara’s astonishment. “True.”

Shikamaru remained there, waiting, but Shikaku also remained there, quiet. A silence stretched with smoke mingling between them.

After a long exhale, he finally spoke, “Inoichi and I fooled around.”

“Called it.”

“You’re betting on my sex life, then,” Shikaku chuckled strangely, a touch of concern there.

“I wouldn’t say it like that, but it just makes sense. You guys are, and were, together all the time.”

“And why not Chouza?”

“Too good,” Shikamaru stated simply. “Just like his son.”

“Mm,” Shikaku hummed simply. “And is that to say we’re not good enough?”

“By the standards of Konoha, no. If I could be a rock, I would be.”

“I guess you really are my son,” Shikaku shook his head, lowering to the ground. Noticing the sudden shift in air Shikamaru did the same sitting side-by-side with his father.

“Undoubtedly,” Shikamaru said and Shikaku’s chest filled with indescribable emotion.

“And I’m glad,” he admitted, affectionately. “Couldn’t ask for better.”

A comfortable silence lapsed between them, one where Shikamaru’s head wasn’t running on overdrive for once. One where he basked in this small, open moment with the person he looked up to the most. One where the affection was reciprocated, where there was this simple understanding between them and the need to leave behind the overstimulation of life for a while. The night sky provided a temporary refuge as did the companion at either of their sides, to the shock of them both, expecting that the burden of another person was an infringement bad enough to sour the rest of the night.

Except it hadn’t. Except it was kinda cool, smoking weed with your father, uncovering secrets, discussing the flaws of the town they both found themselves trapped in, amotivation a stagnating poison.

“Dad.” The hum that came from next to him fueled him. “What does Mom think of...me and Chouji.”

“Nothing.”

“What?”

“Nothing. She’s glad you’re happy. But you’re asking me this, why? Why not just ask her?”

Anxiety swirled into Shikamaru’s gut. Revealing insecurities was not on his to-do list tonight. “Eh, you know, mom…”

“No, actually, I don’t,” Shikaku said, voice a little sharp.

Shit. “Um--”

“Your mom isn’t your enemy, Shikamaru. She’s rough, yes, but she cares about you, and she values your happiness. She’s mostly upset that she won’t be having any grandkids.”

“She wouldn’t have any if I ended up with Temari either. Kids are draining.”

“‘thought the same ‘til I had you.”

Shikamaru fought a smile, looking away. “You can’t say that. I’m nearly thirty.”

“So? You’re my baby boy.”

“God, I’m glad we’re alone,” Shikamaru shook his head, openly smiling.

“Is that a smile on my son’s dull face?”

“Troublesome. How can you even see in this?”

“I can’t, really, but I have a heightened awareness of you.”

Shikamaru didn’t think he had the mental capacity to understand what that meant. He chalked it up to some fatherly sentiment that he would never be able to understand. “It’s getting late. Chouji is gonna be looking for me.”

“Ah,” Shikaku said. “Being out here with you almost made me forget that there is a world we have to get back to.”

“Likewise,” Shikamaru nodded. “Will I see you tomorrow?”

“Undoubtedly,” Shikaku mimicked, earning the grumbling of his son to which he laughed.

**Author's Note:**

> someone rewrite dis and make it good  
i need more interaction b/w shikaku and shikamaru before i perish  
i cant seem to write a naruto fic w/o including sasuke/naruto in there in some way it isnt even abt them *sighs*  
ugh its a lot of ideas i want to explore in their rightful depth here but im lazy


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